Pepe: ‘Ivory Coast Has the Quality to Go Far’

Pride and joy were the dominant emotions in the Côte d’Ivoire camp after their historic qualification for the FIFA World Cup™ knockout stage, secured by Nicolas Pepe’s brace in the 2-0 victory over Curaçao.

Pepe, named Player of the Match, reflected on his two goals with humility, crediting his teammates for their contributions.

‘It’s a source of pride and joy. We’ve qualified for the knockout stage, so for the people of Côte d’Ivoire, this is a source of pride,’ he said.

‘My two goals? It’s all thanks to the team. On the first one, Yan [Diomande] did a great job setting me up with the ball. The second was a magnificent pass from Ibra’ [Ibrahim Sangaré], and all I had to do was get my foot on it. It’s an individual honor, but also a team one. It’s one game at a time. We’re going to try to go as far as possible, we have the players and the quality to do it. We’ll need to stay focused, rest up, and see who we’ll be playing against.’

Head coach Emerse Fae echoed the forward’s sentiments, emphasizing the collective achievement.

‘Pride is the first word that comes to mind. We knew we could do it, and we also knew it was going to be difficult. We did it. On top of that, we finished second. We’re happy and proud, but we’re looking even further ahead. We’re going to rest up well for our next match. Ivory Coast deserves this, can enjoy it, and can celebrate tonight. They can keep cheering us on so we can go as far as possible.’

With the victory, Côte d’Ivoire advance as Group E runners-up and will face the runners-up from Group I in Dallas on June 30.